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On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and John Dickerson discuss the extraordinary midterm elections, whether the success of ballot initiatives protecting voting rights marks a turning point in ballot access, and the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:
• Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “Will Florida’s Ex-Felons Finally Regain the Right to Vote?”
• Laura Newberry for the Los Angeles Times: “Orange County Voters Appear to Oust Longtime Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas”
• Time: “Indicted and Elected: Candidates Accused of Crimes Won Big in the 2018 Midterms”
• Keri Blakinger for the Houston Chronicle: “Promise Not to Kill Anyone? After Losing Election, TX Judge Wholesale Releases Juvenile Defendants”
Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:
Emily: German Lopez for Vox: “Louisiana Votes to Eliminate Jim Crow Jury Law With Amendment 2”
David: Beautiful Transitions: Autumn Bonsai Exhibit at the National Arboretum
Listener chatter from @davidamann: Blog post by Jay Rosen: “Election coverage: the road not taken It’s called the ‘citizens agenda’ approach in campaign journalism. I know, dorky name. It was tried. And it worked.”
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment the hosts discuss the outcomes of some overlooked midterm races.
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter or post it to our Facebook page. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.
Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.
